“God kept me here for a reason.” Rochester Board Member supports her Puerto Rico home

“I wish I could be there.”

Under normal circumstances, Rose Mary Villarrubia Izzo would be in Puerto Rico right now, helping friends and family devastated by Hurricane Maria. However, this past year has been anything but normal for the long-time Red Cross volunteer and Greater Rochester Chapter Board member.

Rose Mary Villarrubia Izzo (r) with MGO Lorraine Clements
at the Greater Rochester Chapter Volunteer Salute in October
(Photo by: Tony Zollo, American Red Cross)

“I went to the doctor because I had a migraine,” she says. “The CT scan said I had a tiny aneurysm. The doctor sent me to a neurologist, who sent me to a neurosurgeon. They discovered I had a Size 6 aneurysm. They told me they start rupturing at Size 4, and they had to operate immediately.”

Rose Mary was hesitant to do the surgery. She was told she had only a 50/50 chance of surviving, and even if she did, she may not be able to walk or talk, and could lose her memory.

“I walked out of the doctor’s office in total devastation,” she says. “But they told me if I didn’t have the surgery, I had a 100% chance of dying.”

So, Rose Mary underwent the brain surgery, followed by several long, difficult months of recuperation. Despite being under doctor’s order to stay as stress-free as possible, Villarrubia Izzo, who has been a part of disaster relief operations including Hurricanes Hugo and George during her 32 years with the Red Cross, worried about her nieces and nephews in Texas after Hurricane Harvey, and her in-laws in Florida as Hurricane Irma made landfall. Then, Hurricane Maria absolutely devastated her birthplace, Puerto Rico, where much of her family still lives.

“Every time I looked at videos, my heart stopped,” she says. “I kept waiting to see if any family members would pop up in the news. One of my cousins found a fish on the top of their house! They lost everything.”

Rose Mary moved with her parents to Rochester when she was five years old, but spent summers and holidays with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Puerto Rico, and her parents moved back after 18 years.

“Dad wanted to stay in Puerto Rico during this devastation and keep an eye on the house,” she said.  Her parents are in their 80s, and she knew that they couldn’t stay in an area with no power, potable water, or functional hospitals after Maria. Rose Mary worked to get them to join her in Rochester. After flights were cancelled six times, she arranged a relief flight, and they arrived safe two weeks ago and are now staying with her daughter. However, Rose Mary felt she needed to do more to help her homeland.

Rose Mary Villarrubia Izzo (3rd from left, red dress) was
instrumental in helping raise over $100,000 to support Maria
relief efforts during a telethon on September 25

“God kept me here for a reason,” says the deeply religious Villarrubia Izzo. After being convinced

that her medical condition made it impossible for her to go to Puerto Rico herself, Rose Mary began to use connections formed through 30 years with the Rochester City School District and the City of Rochester to help raise financial support for the Red Cross relief operations. She was instrumental in the raising of over $100,000 during a telethon on September 25, and helped ensure that proceeds from the City of Rochester’s ROC Relief event a week later also supported the Red Cross efforts. She represented the Red Cross during a concert at the Diplomat Banquet Center that raised over $5,000, and is currently working on another event with Country/Rock music group, “Stanby”, which will be held on November 26 at Three Heads Brewery, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross.

“I feel very proud that I’m capable health-wise to do it,” Rose Mary said. “I’m sad that I can’t go, but at least I can help from here. That’s why God kept me here. I know I can make a difference.”

Rose Mary started with the Red Cross 32 years ago through the Youth Leadership Program, which she is still involved with today. She says that the only way to truly understand all that she’s seen the Red Cross do for the community is to become a part of it yourself.

“If you can make a difference in someone’s life, you need to do it,” she says. “The purpose of helping pulled me out of a lot of depression, and I’m so happy to be here to do it.”

-Jay Bonafede, American Red Cross